The Seventeenth-century Literature Handbook

Synopsis

The Seventeenth-century Literature Handbook by Robert C. Evans

This is a one-stop resource offering complete textbook for courses in seventeenth-century literature - progressing from introductory topics through to overviews of current research. ??i??The Seventeenth-Century Literature Handbook??i?? is an accessible, authoritative and comprehensive introduction to English literature in the seventeenth century. It provides a one-stop resource for literature students, with the essential information and guidance needed at the beginning of a course through to the development of more advanced knowledge and skills. It includes: introductions to authors, texts and contexts; guides to key critics, concepts and topics; an overview of major critical approaches, changes in the canon and directions of current and future research; case studies in reading literary and critical texts- an annotated bibliography (including websites), timeline, glossary of critical terms. Written in clear language by leading academics, it is an indispensable starting point for students beginning their study of seventeenth-century literature. ??i??Literature and Culture Handbooks??i?? are an innovative series of guides to major periods, topics and authors in British and American literature and culture. Designed to provide a comprehensive, one-stop resource for literature students, each handbook provides the essential information and guidance needed from the beginning of a course through to developing more advanced knowledge and skills.

Reviews

Evans and Sterling, both of Auburn University, have produced not only a guide to British seventeenth-century literature, but also a handy reference to current trends in criticism. The book provides a timeline and an overview of the major historical events, primarily the Civil War, Interregnum and Restoration. This is followed by mini-biographies of some of the important writers along with literary and cultural movements, including the Royal Society, which, as Margaret Cavendish discovered, did not care what women thought. The handbook, however, notes recent work on women writers of the day as well as attitudes toward homosexuality and race. Essays explaining ways to read and analyze a work are excellent as is the explanation of the many ways to interpret one poem according to various literary theories. There is a glossary and solid biography for further research. The chapter on teaching the literature in the classroom is only available on line. The handbook is intended for use by teachers with sections to be used by students. However the articles on theory and analysis could be used in any literature class bewildered by the plethora of viewpoints on literary interpretation. -Eithne O'Leyne, BOOK NEWS, Inc. 'At once intellectually stimulating and genuinely useful, The Seventeenth-Century Literature Handbook is an invaluable resource: a faithful and accessible guide to the period's significant texts and literary approaches. Meticulously edited and thoughtfully organized, the Handbook is suitable for beginning and advanced students alike, offering both an introduction to the study of seventeenth-century English literature and a sophisticated survey of key concepts and contexts.'- Claude J. Summers, William E. Stirton Professor Emeritus, Humanities University of Michigan-Dearborn, USA 'The review of recent critical theory enables a refreshingly new approach both to criticism and to an exemplary range of seventeenth-century writing . . . By using a judicious mixture of established and more recent critical approaches this collection provides a valuable challenge to accepted views about canon and genre.' - Dr Peter Happe, Visiting Fellow, Department of English, University of Southampton, UK

About the Author

Robert C. Evans is Professor of English at Auburn University Montgomery, USA. He is the author or editor of approximately twenty books (more than half on the seventeenth century) and has won a number of teaching awards. Eric J. Sterling is Distinguished Research Professor at Auburn University Montgomery, USA. He has won several national awards for teaching, scholarship and pedagogy.